Scrapbook Memories
by luluhrh
Summary: Snapshots of a life well-lived, and of a pair well-loved. Ten/Rose, all human AU. Warning: contains bitchy Reinette and Martha/Mickey. Rated T for language. -COMPLETE- (Also, I am currently publishing a story of extras from this story titled "Scrapbook Memories: Extras" check it out!)
1. First Impressions

**MY FIRST DOCTOR WHO FIC SO EXCITING!**

 **Warning: I do not know how British school systems work. I am an ignorant American. Forgive me for any inaccuracies.**

 **Warning 2.0: THIS IS BEAUTIFUL, FABULOUS TEN/ROSE. IF YOU DO NOT APPROVE OF TEN/ROSE, TURN BACK NOW OR READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.**

 **There you go. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Age 10_

There was a new boy in school that day.

"Hi!" he said, beaming. "My name's John. I'm ten years old and I like learning things!"

The kids tittered a bit. Who was this crazy person who liked to learn? Weirdo!

"Well, you've definitely come to the right place," Ms. Jones joked. "Why don't you go and-"

"Wait," John said, holding up a hand and scrutinizing the fifth grade teacher. "Isn't it good manners to ask me _what_ I enjoy learning, Ms. Jones?"

The children were stunned. This new kid had the audacity to question the teacher's manners! An audible gasp flew through the room.

Ms. Jones, to her credit, did not let this faze her. "Of course, John. I will certainly ask that. But can you please take your seat between Kingsley and Shireen first?"

This seemed satisfactory to the boy, for he made his way to his seat without further ado.

"So, John," Ms. Jones began patiently, "what do you like learning?"

John's grin widened. "Oh, all sorts of things!" he exclaimed. "There's just so much to discover! But since I already know lots of science stuff, I like learning history. Especially Shakespeare! Shakespeare is fascinating. Brilliant man. It would be amazing to meet him. Or Dickens! Yeah, history and science are my subjects."

Ms. Jones raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't comment on it. "All right, John. Now, on with the lesson..."

* * *

"He was _so_ cute!" Shireen gushed. "Oh, you would not _believe_ how cute he was!"

Rose and Keisha shared a long-suffering glance. Shireen didn't have the highest of standards when it came to boys. After all, she thought Jimmy Stone's hair was nice. Honestly.

Still, Rose decided to give her friend the benefit of the doubt. "What did he look like?" she asked, partially to be polite and also because she was slightly curious.

"Well, he was pretty tall," Shireen reflected. "Not as tall as Freddy, but taller than Adam. And _way_ cuter than both. And he had really awesome hair, sticky-uppy and brown and nice. Big smile, brown eyes, all that stuff. Really cute."

Keisha scoffed, muttering, "Yeah right," but Rose looked thoughtful.

"He doesn't sound too bad," she conceded.

Before Shireen or Keisha could respond, someone called, "Shireen!" All three girls looked over.

It was John. He jogged over, grinning. "Hello! I'm John. Who are you two?"

Keisha and Rose were both struck dumb by the appearance of a boy who met Shireen's description to a "T"- especially the cute part- so Shireen answered for them. "This is Keisha and Rose," the girl announced, pointing to them both in turn.

"Cool!" The boy turned to Keisha and said, " Your hair? Ginger curls? It's _awesome_. You're lucky." Then to Rose, he said, " I love your name. What's your last name?"

"It's Tyler," Rose replied, still in shock. "Rose Tyler."

John smiled even wider. "That's a fantastic name, Rose Tyler."

Rose smiled back. "Thanks."

Keisha nodded. "Yeah, thanks. For saying that about my hair," she clarified quickly, fingering a reddish lock shyly.

John shrugged. "It's no problem. I've always wanted to be ginger. My cousin is ginger. It's really not fair that I am surrounded by people who are ginger and can never be one... Oh well. Anyway, Rose Tyler is a good name. Rather wonderful one, in fact."

Rose looked pleased, if a bit confused. Keisha just looked flattered.

Shireen frowned petulantly. "What about me?"

John laughed as if the question were silly. "Your eyes, naturally! They're so many different colors, and each one is more the lovely than the last."

Shireen blushed and beamed.

"Gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, okay?" John said, already starting to walk away.

The three girls nodded at him, even though he couldn't see them anymore.

"He. Is. So. CUTE!" Keisha half-whispered, half-shouted.

"I know, right!" Shireen crowed.

Rose didn't say anything. She was glad to be complimented, of course. And the boy really was very cute. But she couldn't quite understand. What was so great about her name? Why did he comment on something as ordinary as that?

* * *

"Why do you think I did?" John replied, answering her question with another question.

Rose shrugged helplessly. "I dunno. I guess nothing about me is all that special, so you said something about my name to be nice."

John shook his head. "Oh no. _Au contraire_ , Rose Tyler. You are incredibly special. I just chose to remark on your name rather than your physical features, because your name is rather remarkable."

"But why?" Rose persisted. "It's so... normal."

"It rolls of the tongue," John replied. "Rose Ty-lah. Oh, it's so fun to say! Love it."

Rose stifled a giggle at John's serious face. She wasn't supposed to be laughing at his antics! She was supposed to be questioning him seriously. "That can't be it," Rose prompted.

John smirked. "Well, it's a very trustworthy name, Ms. Tyler."

"How on Earth can a name me trustworthy?" Rose demanded. This guy made no sense!

John shrugged, still grinning, and sent a wink her way.

This behavior startled a breathy laugh out of Rose. She couldn't hold her giggles in anymore. She didn't know why, but this boy, with his trustworthy names and his winks, made her smile.

As soon as she calmed down, John stuck out a hand. "I'm John Noble. Friends?"

Rose smiled widely and grabbed the outstretched appendage, shaking it firmly. "Friends."

John Noble sounded like a perfectly trustworthy name.

 _End of Part 1_

* * *

 **Well? How did I do? Was it good?**

 **Please RFF! I really want to know if it's good or not.**

 **The word of the day is FOREIGN, because British people are foreign to me!**

 **Love ya! lulu**


	2. Girls and Boys

**Second chapter! Whoop whoop!**

 **Warning: if you don't like Reinette being portrayed as the bad guy, don't read. Because, despite not having anything against Reinette personally, I always end up having her be a bitch. Sorry.**

* * *

 _Age_ _14_

"Reinette?" Rose asked incredulously. "You're going on a date with _Reinette_?"

John nodded gleefully. "I asked her and she said yes!"

Rose restrained the urge to snap that yeah, that was usually how asking someone on a date worked. She knew snapping wasn't going to help much in this situation. Still...

Luckily, Mickey interrupted her train of thought before she couldn't hold back her outburst anymore. "So it's official then," he put in. "The two of you are a thing? Like, _together_?"

"Suppose so," John replied, grinning widely. "It's not us hanging out in groups, sort of together but not really. It's one on one. Dinner and a movie. I can't wait!"

Mickey whooped, clapping John on the shoulder. Odd, as just yesterday Mickey kept giving him the cold shoulder... but that wasn't really all that important, Rose rationalized. Mickey was just being weird, as usual. Even if he was her boyfriend, she'd never understand him. _Boys_.

Instead, Rose frowned about something else. "So it doesn't bother you that..."

"That what?" John asked, blinking innocently.

Rose shook her head. "It's nothing."

Rose didn't like Reinette Poisson, not in the least. Sure, the French girl was smart, pretty, and talented. But that wasn't the issue. The _issue_ was that she knew it, too. And that made her impossible.

Some, like Mickey, never got close enough to see beyond her impeccable manners and deceiving smile. Others flocked to her, content to stay in her shadow if it meant she didn't torment them as much. Everyone else basically consisted of Rose's group of friends and others like them, who had gotten in close enough to see Reinette as she truly was but were unwilingly to sacrifice their dignity in return for escaping her attentions. They saw the lovely, clever, skilled girl as nothing but a prideful bitch.

Unfortunately, John was actually blind to Reinette's shortcomings because he was never outshone by her. He was smarter, which meant she was simply wonderful to him. And he fell for it.

Rose hated to keep this from John, but badmouthing his girlfriend to his face was not the way to go about it. She may have best friend status, but even she wouldn't be able to get away with that.

Still, how could he not see that if you took one 'S' from Poisson, it spelled poison?

* * *

Reinette Poisson didn't get jealous often. Why would she? She was attractive, brilliant, and good at everything. Only John bested her by being a handsome genius who never got anything below an A. (Which was, of course, why they belonged together. Perfection seeks perfection!) Nothing Reinette did could ever be anything less than beautiful.

But when Reinette _did_ get jealous, it got ugly _fast_.

"Rose Tyler," Reinette spat. "What makes her so special?"

"Nothing, Reinette," Laura hurried to say, hoping to placate the angry girl.

"Please stop talking, Lauren," Reinette said, sickly sweet. Her eyes flashed angrily.

"I-It's Laura."

"Same difference. And didn't I ask you to stop talking? Besides, my question was rhetorical." Reinette shook her head, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Imbeciles." Then she continued, "I know that she isn't special. She lives on the estates, for God's sake! So I'm trying to figure out how she came to be so close to _my boyfriend_."

No one dared speak, for no one had a good answer.

Reinette stood up, brushing her hair daintily over one shoulder. "There's no point in bothing to ask any of you. Honestly. As if _you'd_ know." She flounced away, leaving her floundering followers to sigh in relief. No one, not even her own personal entourage, really liked Reinette.

* * *

"I just don't get it," Rose said for the thousandth time. "Why her? Sure, she's pretty, and smart, and good at stuff. But why not someone _nice_? Someone who isn't possessive enough to, oh, I dunno, sacrifice all females who talk to him- including me- to Satan?"

Mickey groaned. "Sweetheart, we've been over this. She's pretty. He's a guy. She's smart and talented. He's John, practically the definition of smart and talented. They fit together."

"But she's a devil dressed like an angel, and he's my best friend! How on Earth does that make them fit?"

"Oi!" Mickey protested. "Best friend? What about me?"

Rose rolled her eyes and kissed him on the cheek, smirking despite her current state of irritation. "You're my boyfriend. It's different."

"It better be," Mickey grumbled. "I don't fancy sharing you with him."

"Okay, first off, it's not like you guys are sharing ownership of me," Rose growled. "And secondly, it's not like that between me and John. Besides, John is completely fine with us dating. You passed the best friend test."

"Would you have said no if he hadn't?" Mickey asked, only partially teasing. He actually looked slightly nervous. He knew how close Rose and John were...

"Of course not!" Rose declared. "He isn't my boss! I date who I want!"

"Now that's what and I like to hear," Mickey said with a relieved grin, pulling Rose into a bear hug. While she was in his arms, he added, "And don't worry about Reinette. We're only 14. If what you say about Reinette is true, John is bound to realize her true nature eventually."

"Yeah... I guess so," Rose replied, ignoring the urge to protest and simply burrowing deeper into Mickey's arms. After all, he was right. Reinette couldn't hide herself forever.

 _End of Part 2_

* * *

 **Yay! Done! It's a bit shorter than the last one, though... Oh well.**

 **So how was it? Good or bad? RFF and lemme know, kay?**

 **Man, you guys rock.**

 **The word of the day is SHERLOCK! Why, you ask? BE AUSE I'M WATCHING IT RIGHT NOW! BUH-BYE, SUCKERS!**

 **Love ya! lulu**


	3. Meet Martha

**Another chapter? Oh yes. I do love Doctor Who.**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

 _Age 16_

"Batman."

"Dark Knight."

"Night sky."

"Blue."

"TARDIS."

"John!" Rose cried. "You can't just use random words that aren't even real!"

"But what if I define it?" John asked defiantly. "It's an acronym. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It's a time and space machine, and it's the bluest blue there is." He nodded firmly, as if that settled it.

Rose sighed. "Is it part of the whole 'Doctor' thing you made up?"

John crossed his arms. "And what if it is?"

Rose stifled a smile at his indignation. Sometimes John was so ridiculous it was almost adorable. "Nothing. But aren't made-up worlds a bit... well, childish?"

"What's wrong with being childish?"

"We're teenagers, not children."

"So? There's no point in being grown-up if you can't be childish sometimes."

"Stop that!" Rose was giggling.

"Stop what?"

"Being philosophical! It's too weird, coming from you."

"Oi! No need to be rude, Ms. Tyler." John was grinning, and Rose couldn't help but laugh.

"This coming from the king of rudeness? That's rich."

"Oh no, not king, never king. I don't want to be a king. How dull would that be? Always protected, always kept away from the real fun. I'd never get to have any adventures, I'd be too busy ruling over my domain. Nah, no way."

Rose quirked an eyebrow, amused. "Would you prefer to be god of rudeness?"

"Nope. That'd be even worse. 'Sides, I'd make an awful god."

"True," Rose said with a snort.

John frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you'd make a bad god."

"Yeah, but how so?"

"You said it first!"

"I want your opinion," John insisted, popping a chip dipped in ketchup into his mouth.

"Fine," Rose surrendered, making a face. "I guess it's because you're too impassioned. Sure, you're fair and just and always try to do the right thing. Those are good qualities in a god. But if you had power, you would destroy the world to save the people you care about."

A moment of heavy silence passed.

John shrugged. "That's fair, I suppose."

"I know." Rose helped herself to a few chips.

After a moment of munching in thoughtful silence, Rose asked softly, "You over Reinette being a bitch yet?"

Reinette had, after two years, finally showed her true colors. John hadn't agreed to do the deed with her, said he was waiting for the right moment. Reinette appeared to be perfectly fine with this on the outside, but then John caught her with Louis, the captain of the football team. Apparently, Reinette had been cheating on John with him for a few months. The knowledge that she had been right, rather than making Rose feel triumphant, left a sour taste in her mouth. John had really cared about Reinette, and she'd tossed him aside without a second thought and didn't even bother to apologize. It made Rose's blood boil.

John wrinkled his nose, but before he could respond, the doorbell rang.

John sighed, pushing himself to his feet. "Doesn't matter now, I guess. Pity party paused."

"Who is it?" Rose called after him as he made his way to the door.

John didn't answer, simply turning down the hall. Rose heard the _click_ of the lock turning, followed by, "Martha Jones! So glad you could make it!"

 _Martha Jones?_ Rose mouthed the name to herself. Where had she heard it before?

"Thanks for inviting me," a vaguely familiar voice said. "You didn't have to do this."

"Of course I did!" John replied. "I'm here to help. 'Sides, what are friends for?"

When John came back around the corner, he had a pretty, dark-haired girl in tow. Rose recognized her immediately: she was the new girl in her science class, the one who said she wanted to be a doctor. Martha Jones, apparently.

The girl- Martha- started upon seeing Rose lounging on the sofa in sweats and a tank top. "If this is a bad time, I can come back later and-"

"No, it's fine," Rose insisted before John could protest. "I'll just clean up here and leave."

"Oh, no need to leave," John said quickly. "You could help me help Martha!" To Martha, he added, " I once tutored Rose in history and biology, and she aced both of her tests!"

"Wow!" Martha said, evidently unsure of how to reply to this. "That's amazing!"

"Yep!" John said proudly. "I am a fantastic tutor. And now that she has undergone my teaching, Rose is an _expert_ on history."

"I wouldn't go that far," Rose put in, still looking Martha over.

"I'm sure she is," Martha said at the same time. She was sending a calculating stare towards Rose, who was forcibly _not_ glaring back defiantly. "Are you two..." She swallowed. "...together?"

John blinked. "What?"

"No, no way," Rose said hurriedly. "I have a boyfriend. That isn't John. Mickey Smith."

"Yeah," John said in relief. "Rose is just a friend. She and I were throwing a bit of a party to help me get over my last girlfriend."

"Oh," Martha said, looking relieved.

Rose frowned. Why did Martha look so pleased about John not having a girlfriend? And why did John's description of Rose as "just a friend" sting so much? Was it because she was his _best_ friend? Yeah, that had to be it.

"We'll clean up later, Rose," John said firmly. "Help me teach Martha about Shakespeare. Martha'll get it, she's pretty brilliant."

Rose hid a wince. John used to call _her_ brilliant, even though she knew she wasn't. Was Martha replacing her? "No, thanks," she said quickly. "You know I'm better with Dickens."

John made a face, but he nodded. "I guess... but don't leave, okay? Our pity party can resume later. Come and hang out with us!"

Rose was hesitant, but she agreed. Martha looked disappointed, which made Rose feel oddly vindictive and pleased. That look settled it. She wasn't leaving those two alone anytime soon. Who knew what they'd get up to?

Later, when she asked herself why she was so against Martha liking John, or John reciprocating those feelings, Rose had no good answer.

 _End of Part 3_

* * *

 **Yay! All done!**

 **But it's so _short_! Why can't I write anything that's 1000 words or more easily? I had to add a bunch of stuff to this! Maybe because I wrote it at camp. With no word counting devices. Honestly, what was I expecting? I'm a moron.**

 **Anywho, RFF!**

 **The word of the day is POMPADOUR! Why? Because Reinette was Madame de Pompadour, and I wanted to know what pompadour really meant! As it turns out, it's** **a man's hairstyle in which the hair is combed up from the forehead without a part. So there we go! Now we all know! (Heh. Rhyme.)**

 **Love ya! lulu**


	4. Realizations and Confessions

**So! Another chapter! Yay!**

 **No big A/N today. Just gonna mention that Astrid Peth is in this. I actually think Astrid is pretty cool, so she's not that bad in this.**

 **Disclaimer:** **Cuz I missed it last chapter. I do not own the characters. I just placed them in the story and forced them to do my bidding.**

 **Okay! Here we go!**

* * *

 _Age 18_

Rose glanced at the clock with undisguised anxiety. Class ended in two minutes and thirty-five seconds. From there, it was three minutes to the dorms, two if she ran. Assuming she jogged there in around two-and-a-half minutes, she would have five minutes to tidy up her side of the room and set up her laptop. Then there would only be waiting.

Despite her dead focus, Rose couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. In less than fifteen minutes, she'd be seeing the face of her best friend for the first time in a month. There was so much to tell him! Especially that one very important, life-changing thing... She smiled, knowing she looked like a dreamy, lovestruck girl and not caring in the least. She had finally realized why her relationship with Mickey had been falling apart. She had to tell John!

She couldn't wait.

* * *

 _3 hours earlier..._

"You... want to break up?" Astrid asked in shock. "But we just started going out, what, three weeks ago?"

"I'm sorry," John began, but the blonde didn't give him a chance to continue.

"No. Don't be sorry. Just tell me why. Why did you ask me out if you were just going to break up with me later? Some guys are like that, but I thought you were better than them."

"It's..." John struggled to find the words, then sighed. "It was stupid. But I think... I only liked you because you reminded me of someone else."

Astrid blinked. Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't that. "Excuse me?"

"That's not a bad thing!" John hastened to add. "The girl you remind me of is my best friend!"

"I remind you of your best friend and you ask me out?" Astrid asked, completely confused. "Why on Earth would you do that? It's doesn't make sense."

"Maybe not," John retorted, starting to get angry. "Maybe it is nonsensical and stupid. But it took dating you for me to realize that I'm madly in love with my best friend of almost ten years!" He was shouting now. How hard was it to see that this realization was blowing his mind and frustrating him beyond belief? He knew it was a lot for Astrid to take in, but it was hard for him, too!

Astrid, meanwhile, had gone silent. "So you... you love her, then."

John deflated. "Yeah, I do."

"Does she know?"

John shook his head no. "I only just figured it out myself. How could she possibly know?"

Astrid smiled weakly. "Well, go get her."

John stare at his girl- _ex_ -girlfriend. "What?"

She smiled wider, looking no less sad. "You're in love with her. So go tell her."

"But..." What was he supposed to say now? Unsure of what to do, he simply asked, "What if she doesn't feel the same way about me?"

Astrid laughed. "Not love you? Please." Her voice was bitter but determined. "She'd have to be a real idiot, and the John Noble I know doesn't fall for any sort of idiot."

For a moment, John said nothing. Then he threw his arms around the girl in front of him.

"Thank you," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Thank you so much, Astrid Peth."

When he pulled away, there were tears in her eyes, but he didn't see them. He was too busy turning to run to the nearest train station, leaving Astrid to wipe them away alone.

* * *

 _Present time..._

Rose had been ready and waiting for ten minutes when her phone chimed, alerting her to a text message from John. She picked it up eagerly.

 _Sorry. Crisis. Can't call tonight. Reschedule?_

Rose dropped her phone in shock. A moment later, she was scowling at her computer. She'd been so worried about getting everything ready in time for John, and he couldn't call.

Seconds later, a worried look spread over her face. Crisis? What sort of crisis? Was anyone hurt? Was _John_ hurt?

She wanted to call him... but it didn't seem right for their first conversation in a month to be over the phone, without seeing each other's faces. Besides, what if her calling him was the last thing he needed right then? He might get mad, and they really didn't need an argument to be their first conversation since college began...

 _God dammit_ , Rose thought angrily. _John Noble is the SINGLE MOST ANNOYING PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE! Why can't he be straightforward for one? Why did I have to fall for_ him _of all people?_

A knock sounded at the door.

"In a minute," Rose called.

The knock came again, more insistent this time.

Rose could tell that whoever it was probably wasn't going to leave anytime soon. She stomped over, unlocked the door, and wrenched it open, ready to berate Megan for coming over to ask to borrow her blue shirt for the fifth time in two weeks. But it wasn't Megan.

It was John.

"Hello, Rose," he said, swallowing nervously. "Surprise?"

Rose was at a loss of what to do. There was no rule for what was supposed to happen when the person you were internally raging at for blowing you off showed up at your door. So she followed her mother's favorite rule, the one that Rose had seen implemented a thousand times: when in doubt, or in pain, or angry, or confused, let your hands do the talking.

Rose's slap landed on John's face forcefully, making his head snap to the side. Even after it was over, the aftershock echoed through his mind, his nerves stinging and making him see stars.

"Ow!" John yelped, putting a hand to the injured cheek and wincing. "Jackie been giving you lessons? 'Cause that was worse than any of her slaps ever were."

"Well I'm more pissed at you than she ever 'ad reason to be, you arsehole!" Rose shouted, not caring that everyone on her floor was probably going to kill her later. Now that she knew John was safe, her anger flared with the power of a thousand supernovas. "I thought you were 'urt! I thought something terrible had happened! And all I had to go on was 'crisis'. Would it have killed ya to be the tiniest bit more specific? I swear to God, if you weren't my best friend, I would've murdered ya already for worrying me!"

John gaped at her. "I... Sorry?"

" _Sorry?_ " Rose repeated, scoffing at the uncertainty lacing his response. "You scare me like that, through a _text message_ , and all you can say is _sorry_? You complete _moron_!"

"Can I at least have a chance to explain myself?" John ventured.

"No! I'm not done yelling at you!"

For a moment, both of them were silent.

"Okay. Explain. Now."

"Thank you," John said in relief. Then he sucked in a breath. "So. Crisis. Yes. Three hours ago, I was talking to Astrid, my girlfriend." He paused, seemingly aware that he had just said the worst thing possible for him to say in that moment.

Rose had winced at the word "girlfriend". Now she said icily, "So it was a girlfriend crisis. That's why you couldn't make our video call."

"Hey, I'm here, aren't I?" John protested. "Is this not better than a video chat?"

"Why _are_ you here, anyway?" Rose asked, ignoring the second question. "Pretty far from your school, innit?"

"Yeah, it is. Almost a three hour trip. But I'm here because..." John steeled himself to begin his confession. "I'm here because what I want to tell you needs to be said in person, with no interruptions."

Rose could see the determination in her friend's eyes, so she simply nodded.

John sighed. "Good. Right. Um... Right! Three hours ago, I told my girlfriend that I wanted to break up with her."

Rose barely stifled a broad grin. She didn't need to question why this lifted her spirits. She'd figured it out when she broke it off with Mickey.

"I had realized," John continued, "that while I liked Astrid as a friend, any romantic attachment I felt towards her was because she reminded me of... someone else."

Rose's heart sank. _Someone else. It's always someone else, isn't it?_

"The thing is..." John began. Then he hesitated. "This is hard. Oh, this is much harder than I thought it would be."

Rose sighed tiredly. "Spit it out."

John took a deep breath and said, "I love you."

Rose blinked. "What?"

"I love you," John said again, looking as though he had just had a tremendous weight lifted off his shoulders. "So there."

Rose was gobsmacked. "You... you love me?"

John nodded nervously. "Um, yeah." He laughed a little. "Can't believe I said it out loud. I can't believe it took me so long to realize, either. It was staring me right in the face, but it took three weeks of comparing you to Astrid unconsciously and thinking, 'Rose would do that better,' and 'I wonder what Rose would think of that?' for me to finally get it. And the funny thing is, I don't feel differently towards you. I still feel the way I felt when we were just best friends, like you are the most important person in my life. It just took me a while to understand that what I felt wasn't platonic. I don't think it ever was."

Rose stood still for a moment, gazing at John in shock. Then she slapped him again, not quite as hard as before.

"Ouch!" John shouted again. "What was that for?"

"Just making sure this isn't a dream," Rose murmured before standing on her tiptoes and leaning forward to press her lips against his.

John gave a muffled whimper of surprise, then closed his eyes and deepened the kiss.

The two of them stood there, connected by their lips and Rose's arms around his neck, his hands on her hips. It was an entire cheesy eternity before either of them remembered that they needed to breathe.

"I love you too, you complete sap," Rose said, smiling at her best friend in the whole universe.

He grinned wildly, leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, "Quite right, too."

 _End of Part 4_

* * *

 **YAY! ONLY ONE PART TO GO!**

 **Wow! This was incredibly fun to write. I loved it. But whether I loved it or not isn't important. The question is: did you?**

 **RFF! I really appreciate reviews!**

 **The word of the day is SYCOPHANT! Ooh, brilliant word! Fantastic! (*cough*10and9*cough*) It's a "servile, self-seeking flatterer". For those who, like me, have no idea what "servile" means or did know once and have forgotten, it means "very obedient and trying too hard to please someone". So there we go. You got two words for the price of one! XD**

 **Love ya! lulu**


	5. Weddings and Domestics

**Well. Here we are. You and me, on the last page.**

 ***is hit on head with sonic screwdriver* OW!**

 **Okay, okay. Seriously, though, this is probably it. Last chapter.**

 **Warning: contains marriage-y stuff. I don't know much about marital ceremonies, so just bear with me, yeah? Thank you.**

 **Warning2.0: contains a bit of teacher drama (because John teaches high school because it's fun) in which two other teachers sort of flirt with John and he doesn't notice or care because he's desperately in love with his awesome wife. Oh, and he teaches seniors, and some seniors have crushes on him. Why? Because he's 30 years older than me, and even I have a bit of a crush on him. Anyway, it's not a big deal.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own _Doctor Who_ (no matter how much I wish I did), so that's that.**

* * *

 _Age 22_

"...then by the power vested in me by this country, I now pronounce you man and wife." The priest smiled warmly. "You may kiss the bride."

As his lips touched hers, the crowd burst into applause, cheers and whoops emanating from the third row as the friends of the bride and groom threw confetti into the air. Everyone was laughing and hurrahing and it was beautiful.

"I'm so happy for him," Rose whispered to John, clapping along with a smile so wide it hurt her face. "It's good he found someone."

"Yeah, good on ya, Rickey-boy!" John called out with mischievous grin.

Mickey couldn't respond, seeing as he was a little busy, but a moment later he was glaring at John playfully. Martha rolled her eyes, looking happier than Rose had ever seen her.

"They're great together, don't you think?" Rose asked.

"Oh yeah, most definitely," John replied. "In fact, I'd say that they're almost as great together as we are."

Rose laughed. "Just 'almost'?"

"Yep. I mean, they are fantastic together, but we're even better," John insisted. "The stuff of legend, that's what we are. Almost literally. You know how many people our friends have told about our relationship?"

"No doubt hundreds," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "But why don't we stop talkin' about ourselves and let Mickey an' Martha have their special day, eh?"

John laughed, but he nodded, hugging his wife to his side. "Okay. I guess I can live."

* * *

 _At the reception..._

"This is mad," Martha muttered to Rose. "Simply mad!" She sounded frazzled, but Rose could hear the underlying note of glee in her friend's voice. "I'm married, Rose!"

Rose laughed. "Terrifying thought, isn't it? I was exactly like this."

"No you weren't," Martha said dismissively, waving a hand in the air. "I was there, remember? You and John couldn't stop smiling and laughing and holding hands."

"It was a bit sickening, to be honest," Mickey added, gripping Martha's hand tighter and grinning even wider to match Martha's cheerful smile.

Rose stifled a giggle. They really had no clue.

"You two are just as sweet as they were!" Donna said firmly. "Don't you dare deny it, just take a look at yourselves!"

Martha and Mickey were too busy greeting Martha's sister to hear the redhead's exclamation, but Jack sauntered over and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist. "You're absolutely right, sweetheart," he said firmly, winking at Rose. "But still, you have to admit that Rose and the Doc were a bit sweeter."

"Well, of course," Donna grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Spaceman was even more out of it than usual. Couldn't stop staring at her and grinning like the doofus he is."

Rose blushed lightly, but smiled at the memory of her own wedding. It had been perfect. Everything had been a bit crazy, and John had worn his blue suit instead of his tux (because the Tuxedo of Doom would not destroy his wedding day, no sirree), and her mum had cried tears of frustration upon seeing her in her simple white gown (Jackie had wanted her to wear the one with the diamonds, seeing as Pete could definitely afford it), and their friends had cheered and wolf-whistled a bit too loudly, but it had been wonderful.

"Oi!" John said, emerging out of nowhere to wrap his arm around Rose's shoulders from behind. "I'll have you know that I'm no doofus, Donna Noble."

"Harkness-Noble," Jack corrected impishly.

"No," John replied flatly, but his eyes were twinkling. "I refuse to accept you as my cousin-in-law, Jack Harkness. I'm still working on the 'friend' bit. You're still 'that weird American kid who flirts with everyone and somehow ended up being my roommate' to me."

"You know you love me!"

"No, I love Rose," John shot back, kissing Rose's shoulder softly as if to prove his point.

"Sick. En. Ing," Jack reiterated, making a face. Then he smirked. "Although..." He drew Donna into his arms and planted one on her cheek. "If we were to do it, I don't think I'd mind as much."

Donna made a face, but anyone could see that she didn't mind in the slightest.

"Look at us," Martha said suddenly, making everyone realize that Tish had left and the newlyweds had rejoined the conversation. "All of us married and ready to move on with our lives. It's amazing. We're actually adults."

"I don't know about all of us," Rose muttered playfully, knowing full well that John would hear her.

"Hey!" he protested. "I'm an adult! I just happen to enjoy not acting like it."

Everyone smirked as one. "We know," they said.

John blinked. "That... was terrifying."

They all laughed before going their separate ways, each couple still firmly attached at the hip or hand.

"We're all married now," Rose murmured as they walked away. "I'm not sure I really believe it." She turned to her husband, stopping him in his tracks. "Are you sure that this isn't some sort of dream?" she asked, only half-joking.

John smiled and bent down a bit to kiss her softly. "It's real," he whispered. "It is so, so real."

* * *

 _A few weeks after the wedding..._

"So! Physics. Physics physics physics physics physics. Phyyyyyyysics." John paused, looking at his completely muddled class. "Hope you're getting all this down."

A girl in the third row raised her hand.

"Yes! Miss..."

"Grisham, Olivia Grisham," the girl said quickly with a disarmingly charming (but very confused) smile. "Um, why should we write that down?"

John grinned. "Did no one tell you about my class?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Ha! Brilliant. I love getting to know a new class. And I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you don't know, I only teach seniors, after all, and they're all gone, so who are they gonna talk to? Still, I thought at least some rumors must have gotten around." John grinned. "I guess that means that none of my new classes know."

"Know what, sir?" a boy in the back asked.

The teacher grinned maniacally. "All the greatest geniuses were insane. I am no exception. I am one of the smartest people you will ever meet, and I am more than a bit mad, but in a good way." He laughed at the surprised class. "Glad we go that sorted. Now, on with the lesson!"

* * *

"Scared them again, did ya?" Clara asked, amused.

John smirked and sipped at his tea. "So what if I did? It's not my fault they scare easily. All I said was that I was a bit crazy. What's so scary about that?"

"You are a genius, aren't you?" River put in. "It's bound to intimidate them a bit, _Doctor_."

"Well, yeah, but you're a genius too!" John said quickly.

"I don't flaunt it about, sweetie," River stage-whispered.

John laughed. "Yeah, you don't, but that doesn't make you modest, _Professor_ River Song," he teased playfully.

"Oi! Quit flirting, you two," Clara said quickly, sending a quick glare River's way. River simply smirked back.

"It's not flirting!" John protested. "I'm married, for god's sake!"

"We know," River said, rolling her eyes, smirk turning into a grimace. "Rose Tyler. Aside from your subject, she's all you ever talk about."

"And why wouldn't you?" Clara added, barely keeping the bitterness out of her voice. "She's apparently perfect."

"Not perfect, exactly," John countered. "She has her flaws. I just can't see them. Love has blinded me to her faults. And besides, everyone she meets can't help but like her eventually. Sort of like with me." He sighed faux-sadly. "It's a curse."

"Harry doesn't like you," Clara pointed out.

"Saxon can go stuff it for all I care. He's annoying," River muttered.

"I don't mind him," John said. "He's just bitter, I guess. I was always smarter than him in college, you know. Me and Jack probably made him pretty mad, but it's not my fault he didn't study for his programming class!"

"So anyway," Danny interrupted firmly, drawing attention away from John, "what are we going to do for Parents Day? Any of you have ideas?"

"Impress the parents with our dizzying intellect, Mr. Pink," John said with a grin. "What else?"

"Survive Courtney's parents," Clara added, shivering at the mere thought. "That'll be a nightmare." Danny nodded, commiserating with the only other teacher in the room with Courtney as a student.

John laughed. "Courtney sounds like a riot! I can't wait to have her in my class."

Danny and Clara were evidently about to correct John on his assumption, but just then, the principal walked in, smiling. "John," he called. "You have some people here to see you."

John blinked. "Who is it?"

The principal stepped aside, revealing a blonde woman in a blue leather jacket and jeans. Behind her stood a smirking redhead, but John only had eyes for the first woman.

"Rose!" he exclaimed, jumping up and going to hug her. He was so enthusiastic he literally lifted her off her feet. "What are you doing here?" he asked brightly.

"Put her down and she'll tell you, John!" Donna called, crossing her arms and affecting an amused expression. "Suffocating her won't get you answers any faster."

John stuck his tongue out childishly at her, but he did put Rose down, only to grab Donna and hug her, too. "You didn't tell me you were in town! Why are you in town? You never come here!" John rushed to say all in one breath.

Rose, having recovered from John's surprise attack, laughed at Donna's overly exaggerated terrified expression. "I asked her to come by," the blonde said with a grin. "I knew you hadn't seen her in ages, and I missed her, too."

John relinquished his grasp on Donna, who massaged her sides playfully. "For a stick insect, you sure have got a grip, Spaceman!" she grumbled, but she was smiling. "And Rose wanted to come to your work and meet your coworkers, since she hadn't done that yet, so I decided to accompany her."

"Brilliant!" John exclaimed. "A few are here right now! You can say hello!" He turned to his stunned fellow teachers. "Everyone, meet Rose Tyler. She's my wife. And the snarky redhead is my cousin Donna."

"Oi! I can introduce myself, thanks," Donna protested. She smiled at the nearest person- River- and stuck out a hand. "Donna Harkness-Noble, nice to meet you."

River took the hand, slightly stunned. "River Song."

"Oh, he's talked about you!" Rose said, jumping into the introduction. "You're the flirty one."

River blinked, then turned to John and raised an eyebrow. "'The flirty one'?" she asked with a smirk.

John blushed, tugging at his ear. "Well, I wasn't just going to tell them the name story. I had to think of _something_."

Donna looked at John, intrigued. "Name story? What's the-"

"Not now," River said, grimacing. "It's not even that good a story. Honestly, I don't know why he finds it so fascinating."

Rose shrugged. "That's John for you. Finding regular things incredible." A tongue-touched smile spread across her lips. "Sees the best in everyone, he does." After a moment, she seemed to come out of her reverie and turned to Clara. "And you are?"

"Clara Oswald," the brunette replied, scrutinizing the woman before her. She knew River was doing the same thing, categorizing her, trying to figure out what made Rose Tyler so very, very special to John. Clara and River had both been enamored with John moments after they'd met him. Not even an hour later, they'd discovered that he was unavailable. Neither of them pushed (much- River flirted blatantly, but John took that as a joke, and Clara's flirting was far too subtle for him to notice), but they wanted to know how Rose had stolen his heart and kept it so well.

She seemed so _normal_ , though. River couldn't fathom how she was special. She seemed funny, and charming enough, and perhaps she was clever, but surely she wasn't clever enough for John. _River_ couldn't match John's intelligence, and she had been top of her class. How could this blonde even compare? Clara was no slouch either, and she was hilarious. What about Rose made her better?

"Danny," Danny said, reaching out to shake Donna's hand. "Danny Pink."

"Good to meet you, Mr. Pink," Donna said firmly. Rose repeated the sentiment.

"So, what are you doing here?" John asked his wife as soon as the introductions were finished. "You hardly ever come to see me at work."

"Only because you're always coming to see me instead," Rose tossed back. "And you know how busy it gets at the office. I could hardly get away today, and it was only because I called in a favor with the boss."

John smirked. "Pete gave you a free pass?" he asked. "Wow. He never gives those, not even to you. Still, if he had to give one to anybody, it would be you. He can't deny you anything, can he?"

"Nope," Rose replied cheerfully. She leaned towards the others conspiratorially. "Perks of being the boss' daughter, and of having some _very_ important news to give to my husband."

"You better tell him now, and out loud," Donna grumbled. "Why you couldn't tell me on the way here, I don't know."

Rose smiled. Her eyes were bright with joy. John thought she had never looked more radiant than she did in the moment before she said the words.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

 _Six months later..._

"Congratulations, Mr. Noble," the doctor said with a smile. "You have a healthy baby girl."

John laughed, dizzying relief spilling through him as he gripped his wife's hand tighter. "We have a little girl."

"I know," Rose whispered, tears in her eyes as she gazed at the little bundle of life in the doctor's arms. "Can... Can I..."

"Of course," the nurse said, knowing exactly what Rose was asking for. She walked over and placed the infant in Rose's arms.

Rose cradled her child's head, looking at the wrinkled pink skin, the tuft of pale hair, and listening to the squalling cries of her baby. Her little girl. The thought didn't quite make sense in her post-delivery mind, but she delighted in it nonetheless. She felt John's hand on her shoulder and looked up into her husband's warm, love-filled eyes.

"This is amazing," he murmured. "We did this, you and me. We created this wonder of nature. Together."

"Yeah," Rose breathed, still captivated by her perfect offspring. "We made something amazing."

"We have generated our own little baby," John muttered under his breath, not meaning for his wife to hear it.

She did.

"Generated?" she asked, turning to look at him in amusement. "We generated her, did we?"

John blushed. "Well, we did, didn't we? Human beings. We're machines. Finely tuned, wonderful, fantastic, brilliant machines. And we've generated another one."

"You make us sound like some sort of robot army!" Rose exclaimed, her statement interspersed with giggles she couldn't hold in. "Generated. Honestly, John."

"That's Doctor to you, missy."

* * *

"Generated?" Martha asked, laughing. "Did he really say that?"

"Yep!" Rose replied, watching fondly as her daughter suckled on her breast. "It was adorable. He didn't mean for me to hear it, but I've got magic mum hearing now. He won't be able to get anything past me."

"Generated," Donna mumbled, still shocked that her cousin would say that. "He's a complete dumbo!"

"That's John for you," Martha said with a shrug.

"Generated." Suddenly, Donna brightened up. "Hey! Call her Jenny!"

"Who?" Rose asked in confusion.

"Did you pick a name yet?"

Rose shook her head slowly, realization dawning on her. "We were thinking of Bryony or Andrea, or maybe Sarah- but are you saying that we name her after something stupid that John said?"

"But think of the stories you'll be able to tell her!" Donna insisted. "And Jenny is pretty, isn't it?"

Martha nodded, smiling. "It really is."

"I'll need to ask John..." Rose said, but she was already smiling down at her daughter. "Jenny Andrea Noble. It has a nice ring to it."

* * *

 _One week later..._

"Look who's back!" John said, striding into his classroom with a deliriously happy grin on his face. His students cheered in excitement. Dr. Noble had returned at last! No more boring substitutes for them!

"How are you today, Dr. Noble?" one student asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Fantastic, Christina, thank you for asking. I'm simply brilliant today!" he exclaimed, not noticing the girl's flirtatious pout, nor her annoyed sigh when she realized he wasn't paying her any real attention. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering where I was."

"Yeah, honestly," Zach grumbled, crossing his arms, but he was smiling. Everyone was glad to see Dr. Noble return.

"Well..." John's grin, already huge, grew even larger. "My wife gave birth a week ago. I have a daughter!"

"That's wonderful, Dr. Noble!" Gwen said. "Congratulations!"

"What's her name?" Erisa asked, curious but still somewhat solemn.

"Her name is Jenny," John said in excitement. "Jenny Andrea Noble."

"Jenny's a lovely name. It's not short for anything?" Tosh wondered aloud.

"Nope! Just Jenny," John answered. "We contemplated Jennifer for a while, but Jenny seemed to fit better." He pulled out a stack of small papers. "Pictures, anyone?"

Almost the entire class surged out of their seats and rushed to the front of the room. Only Owen, Cathica, Suki, and Christina remained in their seats. Owen stayed behind to maintain an air of non-interest; the others stayed because they didn't want to see more evidence of how unavailable their foxy physics professor was.

Whatever their reasons, John didn't really notice or care. His other students were interested in his beautiful daughter, and that was good enough for him.

* * *

 _End of the day, a year later..._

"I'm home!" John called.

"In the kitchen!" Rose replied. "Yes, sweetheart, it's time to eat! Come on, yummy banana for dinner!"

"'Nana!" came the gurgling reply of the one year old. "'Nana, 'nana! Mama, 'nana!"

John rushed into the room, sweeping his daughter out of her chair and into his arms. "Well hello!" he said, feigning surprise. "Fancy meeting you here."

Jenny giggled. "Da! Dada! 'Nana, Dada, 'nana!"

Rose laughed, handing the banana mash over to her husband. "Okay, Dada will feed you." She kissed John's cheek in greeting. "Hey, you. How was work?"

"Oh, same old, same old," John replied, somehow managing to send his wife a blinding smile while still coaxing the banana into Jenny's mouth. "And you?"

"Pretty dull," Rose said, shaking her head. "Honestly. You'd expect more fun out of a job involving aliens."

"Will they be needing my expertise any time soon?" John asked, eyes trained on the glob of food that Jenny had somehow managed to get in her eyebrows. He got it with one finger and, winking at Jenny, quickly licked it off.

"No, not now, and I saw that," she said sternly, cuffing John on the back of the head and ignoring his indignant, "Ow!" "I've told you not to do that, it's for her, not you."

"I can't feed her stuff that was in her eyebrows!" John exclaimed in horror.

"But you'll eat it yourself?" Rose shot back. "Double standards much?"

"Oh, shut it," John grumbled, but he was grinning as he put Jenny back in her high chair with her banana and turned to Rose. Stroking her cheek, he murmured, "So... life is pretty boring right now. What do you say to generating a playmate for Jenny?"

Rose stifled a surprised laugh at the bad pick-up line and sent her husband a sultry grin anyway. "I think I'd like that... just as soon as we get Jenny to bed, yeah?"

John Noble smiled at Rose Tyler. After all these years, he still had yet to find someone whose name had struck him like hers, and deep down, he knew he never would. Rose Marion Tyler was the most trustworthy name in the cosmos, and the woman it belonged to was as perfect as a human being could get.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," he whispered to the woman he loved.

She smiled.

It was domestic and too quiet and too loud and even crazy sometimes, but it was everything they needed, and they would never let go.

 _End of Part 5_

* * *

 **Well. I guess that's the end, then.**

 **I LOVE THIS CHAPTER OH MY LORD (OF TIME) *dies* *respawns* ASDFGHJKLQWERTYUIOPZXCVBNM I liked it. It was fun to write, and of course there is baby, and Donna, and Jack, and yeah.**

 **So. There are choices to be made. I could leave it off here, and that would be that.**

 **OR I could make short oneshots about the rest of their lives, and Jenny growing up, and all that. This would be marked as complete, but I might occasionally put another little tidbit on to continue the lives of my babies and their baby.**

 **What do YOU think? Review and tell me! Clicking Favorite would also be nice. And if you want more, hit the follow button!**

 **The word of the day is ANOMALY! Why? Because Jenny is a generated anomaly! Heh... I'm funny. Anyway, I'm too lazy to give you a definition. Don't know it? Look it up. Use the interwebs. We have wifi for a reason, you know!**

 **I adore you all.**

 **Love ya! lulu**


End file.
